1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety equipment for hunters and more particularly to an improved tether for safety belts or safety harnesses.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that, when hunting deer or other game from a tree stand, people who do not use a safety strap or harness to keep them from falling from the tree stand are at risk of being injured from an accidental fall.
A typical prior art safety strap consists of a nylon strap around a tree, a nylon strap around the chest of the hunter, and a nylon tether attaching the two straps together. Sometimes the strap around the person consists of several straps, referred to as a harness. These tethers come from various manufacturers in various lengths.
When a hunter is standing on a tree stand platform, the platform is usually ten to twenty feet from the ground below. Accompanying the danger of falling is the emotional fear of falling that may be experienced by the hunter. Even though the hunter may know that he has the appropriate safety strap or harness on, the hunter can experience some unsteadiness standing ten to twenty feet off of the ground. This unsteadiness can be exacerbated by the appearance of a deer or other game animal being pursued by the hunter. An extreme case of excitement when such game animal appears is commonly known as “buck fever”. So in the course of moving slowly to not scare the animal, yet executing a shot with a bow and arrow or a gun, the factor of steadiness becomes critical.
In situations where the hunter is positioned far enough out on the platform of the tree stand so that the tether is tight, the hunter feels more secure than without such tug on the safety strap. In such position the hunter is not only standing on two feet but has a third point of steadiness if he has the tether stretched tight. The hunter feels more safe, more steady and can mentally and physically execute the shot with more reliability and with more confidence than if the tether was not tight.
It is not always convenient for the hunter to remain standing at the proper distance from the tree to keep the tether tight, and movement to such position when the game being pursued is close risks making the game animal aware of the hunter's presence, resulting in the hunter losing an opportunity to get a shot at such game. Hunters often stay in tree stands from several hours at a time, so remaining in one standing position all of such time is not practical, if not impossible.
Another problem associated with nylon tethers is that when a hunter does fall, he comes to an abrupt stop when the tether becomes tight because the nylon strap typically used for the tether has negligible elasticity, i.e. no shock absorbency.
Consequently there is a need for a practical solution to the aforementioned problems.